Luckily a combination of the ambulance siren and the clear roads meant that we arrived at Accident and Emergency in record time. A slot had conveniently opened up in the operating schedule and by the time Mags had arrived after locking up and taking the dogs home, Gloria had already been whisked away.
‘Go home, ladies,’ a brisk nurse had advised us. ‘She’ll be in theatre and then the recovery room and she’ll be too groggy to talk to you. Come back in the morning when you’ve all got some rest.’
Mags and I had reluctantly obeyed her and had driven back to Plumberry in near silence; we had been so worried about Gloria.
Mr Bryant came back into the room accompanied by a nurse and I moved out of the way while she took Gloria’s pulse and blood pressure. The two of them conferred, the consultant recorded the nurse’s readings in his notes and the nurse left again.
My phone, which I’d put on silent, vibrated in my pocket and I moved away to the window to look at it.
‘Gabe and Noah send their love,’ I said, reading the text message. ‘Gabe wants to know if they should come back up.’
Gloria shook her head and spoke in a dry, croaky voice. ‘There’s no need and I wouldn’t want little Noah to see me in hospital. Although I’ll be able to go home soon, won’t I, Doctor?’
He hooked the clipboard back on the end of Gloria’s bed and frowned. ‘Need to get you up and moving first. Your blood pressure is on the low side, too. I’ve asked for physiotherapy to put you on the list. But for now, rest, recover from the anaesthetic and get some sleep.’
‘I can’t languish in bed, Doctor; I’ve got a business to run.’
He pointed to her right-hand side and her leg, encased in plaster to the knee.
‘Your hip was so badly damaged that we had to replace it. Your tibia, which had a nasty break, has been pinned and fixed with a metal plate, and you hit your head on a solid floor when you fell. You’ll also be booked in for a scan to test for osteoporosis. I hardly think languishing comes into it.’
‘And how long will I be in plaster?’
The consultant relaxed his steely expression for the first time and perched on the end of her bed next to her good leg. ‘Six weeks minimum, probably more, I’m afraid.’
I slipped back to her side and took her hand as her face crumpled.
‘Six weeks?’ she said hoarsely.
Mr Bryant nodded. ‘’Fraid so. And you’ll be on crutches for at least another month after that. Do you have someone at home to look after you?’
‘Yes, me,’ Mags and I answered together.
Mags crossed her legs. ‘My bedside manner is legendary,’ she added, seemingly unable to resist a little flirt.
‘Oh well,’ Gloria sighed, ‘I suppose once I’ve got used to being on crutches, I’ll be scooting about without any problems. I’m sure I’ll only need a couple of weeks off from work.’
Mags and I exchanged anxious glances. Somebody was in denial . . .
The consultant leaned forward and patted her arm. ‘It’ll be much longer than that, Gloria. Possibly as much as twelve weeks. But don’t worry about work today. I think you’ll find that most of us are not quite as indispensable as we think.’
My heart began to thump. Gloria was quite indispensable. And so was Tom. With Gloria out of action, we’d need him to run every single cookery course. And he was spending this weekend in York looking at buying his friend’s restaurant. What if he decided to go for it? Could we ask him to postpone it for three months?
Gloria turned her pale face away from Mr Bryant.
‘But my cookery school,’ she whispered. ‘I’ve been waiting so long . . .’ Her voice faded and tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
Mr Bryant patted her arm again. ‘I’ll see if a nurse can rustle you up a cup of tea.’
He stood, gave me an apologetic smile and left us to it. Gloria’s eyes swept from Mags to me and she attempted a brave face through the tears. ‘Well, this puts us in a bit of a stew, darlings.’
A stew of colossal proportions, in fact.
‘Mr Bryant’s right,’ I soothed. ‘Don’t worry about work today.’
My heart ached for her; she wouldn’t be there to teach the first course at the cookery school and I knew how desperately upsetting that was for her.
Mags handed Gloria a tissue and pulled her chair up closer.
‘Now, Monday’s course, One Pot Wonders, is all taken care of,’ she said briskly. ‘I know you wanted to teach the very first course, but Tom is more than happy to stand in.’
‘Oh, the angel.’ Gloria sniffed, dabbing at her eyes. ‘I’ve organized some lovely dishes for that beginners’ course. Such a pity.’
Mags’s eyes flicked momentarily to me. We’d called Tom on the way to the hospital. He would happily teach the course, but on the proviso that he didn’t have to stick too rigidly to Gloria’s recipes. What Gloria didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, Mags and I had agreed.
‘There are eight bookings now,’ I told her. ‘Four friends who came to the open day emailed this morning.’
Gloria managed a smile. ‘Eight is a good number to start with. The recipes for the course are in my drawer in the office; Tom’ll want those.’
‘I’ll see that he gets everything he needs, don’t worry,’ Mags reassured her, not meeting my eye. ‘I’ll get in bright and early on Monday to give the students a Plumberry welcome. And Pixie will help, of course.’
‘I’ll be live tweeting our first course and taking some pictures for Facebook, and sending out press releases and Friday’s launch-party photographs to all the glossy magazines,’ I added.
‘And meanwhile, I’ll lie here like a completely useless old stick.’ Gloria sighed.
‘Not at all,’ I argued. ‘You can draw up the next three months’ worth of courses to begin with. The current calendar only runs until the end of July.’
‘I shall be back by then, that’s for sure.’ She tried to hitch herself up the bed a bit but gave up, exhausted.
Mags and I tucked a hand under each arm and lifted her gently upwards.
‘But until you are, we’ll steer the ship, won’t we, Verity?’ said Mags, and I nodded.
Gloria blinked at me anxiously. ‘I quite understand if you need to get back to your own house. You’ve already been so kind.’
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. ‘As if I’d leave you in a stew.’
‘It’s times like these . . .’ Gloria’s voice faltered and tears began to cascade down her cheeks again. ‘That I miss Mimi the most.’
‘I know,’ I whispered. ‘Me too.’
Even though it was more than two years, the memories I had of the two of us shone as brightly as ever and it must have been even worse for Gloria. She had no family to speak of and having her daughter with her would have made all the difference. As it was, Gabe was her next of kin and I knew she would refuse to be any sort of burden to him.
Mags stood up and enfolded Gloria in a hug, which wasn’t easy with tubes and monitors and drips surrounding her bed. I watched the two best friends together, wishing more than anything that Mimi was here to wrap her arms round me.
I sat back in my chair and let out a deep breath.
Yesterday at the cookery school, I’d taken stock and decided that cooking would become part of my life again.
I had decided that it was time to head back to Nottingham, but there was no way I could leave Gloria now. She’d need help at home for starters: goodness knows how she was going to get up and down the stairs, and what about showering? And then there were Comfrey and Sage to walk.
And the cookery school needed me, too. I might not be qualified to teach but I could help with other things, like drumming up sales and organizing the administration. And although bookings were beginning to trickle in, we’d need a lot more of them for Dave the accountant to stop doing that sharp intake of breath thing he did so well.
Mimi, if someone had said six months ago that I’d be looking after your mum and her
cookery school, I’d have laughed in their face. Wish you were here to help . . .
A rush of steely determination propelled me forward on to the edge of my seat.
‘Gloria, I know you’re worried and I can’t deny that this is a bit of a setback. But we all share your vision and we’ll all help, won’t we, Mags?’
Mags nodded obediently.
‘There’s no rush for me to get back to Nottingham,’ I continued. ‘Besides, being here will give me a chance to brush up on my cooking skills. After the fun I had with Pixie and Mags getting ready for the opening party, I’m itching to get back in the kitchen.’
I took her limp hand in mine and squeezed it gently, realizing how much I meant what I said.
Gloria looked at me, her blue eyes glittering with tears. ‘Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day, darling.’
‘Three months,’ said Mags with a low whistle as she drove us back to Plumberry from the hospital. ‘Gloria will be going stir crazy by then. That woman never sits still for more than five minutes.’
The two of us contemplated the situation in silence for a few moments.
‘I’d better call Gabe with the news,’ I said reluctantly, pulling my phone out of my bag. I dialled his number and put the call on speaker phone.
‘Poor Gloria,’ Gabe sighed, when I relayed how long she would be incapacitated for. ‘Perhaps she should close the cookery school,’ he added. ‘At least temporarily.’
Mags shook her head in horror. ‘I know that’s the sensible thing to do, Gabe, but getting back to work gives her something to aim for.’
‘She’s sixty-five, Mags, she should be aiming for an easier life!’ said Gabe. ‘Not putting her health at risk. I always thought she was too old to be starting a venture like this.’
‘My mate isn’t ready for the knacker’s yard yet,’ Mags harrumphed, shooting a vicious look at the phone. ‘And she needs to see her dream come true.’
‘Bloomers, talk some sense into Gloria, please,’ Gabe begged. ‘Sometimes things don’t work out and we have to adapt, change direction. Look at me. Prime example. I was aiming to be a partner in my old law firm, remember? That was my dream. Amongst others,’ he added quietly.
My heart melted for him and I felt a stab of guilt. He and Mimi had been blissfully happy together. Sometimes he appeared to be coping so well without her that I forgot his loss was far worse than mine.
I’d organize for him and Noah to come and stay as soon as it was convenient. My stomach flipped immediately at the thought. It would be lovely to see them; I’d barely had a chance to talk to Gabe yesterday and Noah would love taking the dogs on walks to the park and I could read him bedtime stories; I adored doing that and I hadn’t done it for ages.
‘I agree with Mags,’ I said gently. ‘The one thing that will help Gloria recover will be to see her cookery school up and running just as she wants it to be. We all need to help her do that.’
‘I’m in,’ said Mags straight away.
‘Me too,’ I agreed.
There was a small hesitation on the line and then Gabe sighed. ‘Count me in too then. Anything – I mean anything – I can do to help, please shout.’
Mags and I beamed at each other complicitly until a worm of disquiet began to nibble at my confidence. It was all very well for the three of us to commit to getting Gloria’s business off the ground, but without a chef, it was hopeless. And after spending a weekend contemplating purchasing his friend’s restaurant, who knew whether Tom was ‘in’ or not?
Chapter 12
On Monday morning, I woke up bright and early and fizzing with nerves. Today the cookery school opened properly for business. It wasn’t ideal, Gloria not being there, but I had every confidence that Tom, Mags, Pixie and I would make a brilliant team in her absence.
I was zipping up my raincoat in preparation for taking the dogs for a walk and inspecting the grey May morning when Gloria phoned.
‘Just calling to wish you tons of love and luck for today, darling,’ she trilled.
I brightened instantly at her cheerful tone.
‘You sound full of the joys of spring,’ I said, opening the front door.
Unlike the weather. The bright sunshine from last week had disappeared and had been replaced by a persistent soft drizzle. Comfrey and Sage pottered to the doorstep, their pointed noses sniffing the damp air despondently.
‘I am! I slept like a baby, thanks to the drugs, and I even managed to go for a little walk last night. Well, a hobble and it did take two nurses, but even so – I made it!’
‘Excellent!’ I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘You’ll be home in no time. Comfrey and Sage will be glad; they’ve taken to sitting on the front windowsill on permanent lookout for you. They do miss you.’
‘Oh, the darlings,’ she said.
I heard her give a small sigh down the phone and my heart tweaked with disappointment for her. Poor thing; to have worked so hard at getting the cookery school ready for its first course and not even be there to see it. I pulled my hood up and shut the door behind me and the three of us set off down the path, heads bowed against the drizzle.
‘The next few weeks will zip by,’ I reassured her. ‘You’ll soon be back on your feet. But until then, we’ve got lots to do, you and I, and when I visit tonight we’ll talk through some ideas I’ve got for summer.’
‘OK, and I’ll get my thinking cap on too. I’ll want to hear all about our first course tonight. I hope all the students enjoy themselves. That’s what the cookery school should stand for: sharing food and having fun.’
A sudden flashback popped into my head of an afternoon at Mimi’s house when we had ridiculous amounts of fun spelling out rude words with piping bags of mashed potato.
‘I hear you,’ I replied, smiling down the phone. ‘And I’ll make sure the cookery school is exactly what you want it to be.’
Pixie and Tom were already there when I arrived with Mags and the dogs an hour later. Pixie was setting up the Aga kitchen with plates of pastries and pots of tea and coffee ready for the students to arrive and Tom was upstairs in the teaching kitchen, organizing ingredients for the morning’s first dish.
Tom and I exchanged hellos as I passed through to the office, but he was so engrossed in his work that he barely made eye contact.
I watched him through the office windows while I waited for the computer to come to life. He certainly looked the part in his dazzlingly clean white chef’s jacket and soft chambray cotton trousers. His dark hair was tousled where he’d been running his hand through it and his forehead was creased in concentration. From where I sat I could see his lips moving as he consulted a sheet of paper and darted from one side of the kitchen to the other.
I fetched us each a cup of strong coffee and sidled up to his teaching workstation at the front of the room.
‘All set?’ I asked casually, casting my eye over the array of dishes, plates and chopping boards he’d lined up on the counter.
Tom grinned and took the cup and saucer from me. ‘Thanks. Almost ready. How’s Gloria?’
‘Doing well. She sends lots of luck and love for our first day, and says thank you again.’
He slurped at his coffee and smacked his lips together appreciatively. ‘It’s no bother. Besides it’ll take my mind off wondering whether to buy this restaurant in York or not.’
‘And? Are you tempted to buy it?’ I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped he wasn’t. I took a step backwards until I felt the windowsill behind me and perched on it.
‘At the moment I’m a chef without a restaurant. And that makes me,’ he shuffled his shoulders, ‘edgy.’
My heart sank.
‘So you are tempted.’ I stared into my coffee, wondering how long these things take. If Gloria was going to be out of action for a couple of months, this could be a real headache . . .
‘He’s got a good business there.’ Tom leaned forward and rested his elbows on the counter. ‘The question is: is it the right business for m
e?’
‘If you’ve got doubts, perhaps it isn’t?’ I said, brightening.
He nodded slowly. ‘It’s just that I vowed that next time around, I’d do it my way, create my own place, in my name, you know? And even though I could rename it, change the décor and the menu, I think there’s something to be said for making a fresh start. Don’t you?’
I thought back to three weeks ago – only three? – when I thought I might be pregnant with Liam’s baby, when I also thought I stood a chance of promotion in the marketing department of Solomon Insurance. And the feeling of relief I’d felt afterwards, that I was free to start again, to do something new. I’d certainly done that and even though none of it had been planned, and even though Gloria’s accident was a terrible setback, the fresh start had done me the world of good.
‘I do,’ I agreed with gusto.
‘I’ll take my time, I think. Anyway, at the moment my money is still tied up in Salinger’s so I couldn’t make any hasty decisions even if I wanted to. I’ll stay here until Gloria’s fit to return, if that will help?’
‘Oh phew!’ I let out a breath and reached out to touch his arm. ‘That is such a weight off my mind. I’ll ring Gloria and let her know.’
‘That’s twice you’ve been nice to me now, Verity Bloom. People will talk,’ he laughed, holding his coffee cup away from us as it wobbled in its saucer.
‘I thought for one awful moment that if you left, I might have to teach a course or two.’ I grinned and fanned my face.
Tom pretended to shudder. ‘Heaven forbid.’
I raised an eyebrow haughtily. ‘I’ll have you know I do a mean cod goujon au pain with tomato reduction.’
The Plumberry School of Comfort Food Page 11
